Ever wondered about who the guiding light of the ‘Lemon Pepper Lou’ was way before he was lights out? The sources of his ‘hit the floor’ mentality were several but the one ‘non-NBA’ icon that locked in Lou Williams on his sport was none other than Deion Sanders. Looking at his screen on camera, the Clippers legend did not take a second thought to proudly answer “Coach Prime” when Run It Back’s Michelle Beadle asked about his ‘favorite non-NBA’ player.

During his April 2024 interview, the Clippers legend admitted about the “first athlete that he really, really looked up to.” The one who inspired him to do the unthinkable of announcing for the 2005 NBA draft straight out of high school and retiring by the age of 36. The inspiration stems right from his childhood, when South Gwinnett High School’s most decorated scorer was on the pined, dreaming of making it big in the league. “I did have a Deion Sanders poster,” Lou admitted while iterating why Deion Sanders was such a massive inspiration for him.

“He had style, he had substance,” the iconic scorer said. However, he had one wish related to Sanders that he couldn’t fulfill. “I could not afford his shoes. Growing up, I always wanted to have Deion Sanders shoes,” Lou Williams confessed. Now, fast forward to Williams becoming one of the top phenoms of the basketball world and launching his own shoe line, ‘PEAK’, in collaboration with Signature Shoes. Safe to say, Williams is not the only NBA legend who is a fan of Sanders’ sneaker collection.

LeBron James is a fan of Deion Sanders sneakers

James and Prime’s bond over their mutual passion for sneakers is undeniable. While the two have always been ardent appreciators of each other’s collections, LeBron James was particularly motivated by all the hard work Deion Sanders was putting into bettering Colorado as a head coach for the past 2 years: that, plus his latest shoe designs in collaboration with Nike.

To honor this mutual passion for sneakers and mutual respect, LeBron James proudly donned his Air DT Max ’96, aka the Air Diamond Turf 3, featuring the classic black and white colorway with gold accents during his 20th All-Stars game in February 2024. Appreciating LeBron James‘ love towards his ‘Primes’, Deion Sanders posted a special shoutout to LeBron James on his Instagram, captioning it, “Congratulations to my brother @kingjames for his Class, Grace, Passion, Commitment to Excellence & Consistency for 21 Years!!! Thank you as well for Rocking them ‘PRIMES’ on your stage.” Now that Lou Williams has made his appreciation for Prime public, will we spot the Clippers legend rocking some ‘Primes’ too?